Wireless communication method supporting multi-user cascading transmission and wireless communication terminal using same

ABSTRACT

Provided is a wireless communication terminal that communicates wirelessly. The terminal includes: a transceiver; and a processor. The processor is configured to receive a Downlink Multi-User (DL MU) PPDU including information for an Uplink Multi-User (UL MU) transmission from a base wireless communication terminal by using the transceiver, and transmit the UL MU PPDU to the base wireless communication terminal based on the information for UL MU transmission.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.16/153,670 filed on Oct. 5, 2018, which is a continuation ofInternational Patent Application No. PCT/KR2017/003932 filed on Apr. 11,2017, which claims the priority to Korean Patent Application No.10-2016-0044466 filed in the Korean Intellectual Property Office on Apr.11, 2016, and Korean Patent Application No. 10-2016-0045120 filed in theKorean Intellectual Property Office on Apr. 12, 2016, the entirecontents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a wireless communication method and awireless communication terminal supporting multi-user cascadingtransmission

BACKGROUND ART

In recent years, with supply expansion of mobile apparatuses, a wirelesscommunication technology that can provide a rapid wireless Internetservice to the mobile apparatuses has been significantly spotlighted.The wireless communication technology allows mobile apparatusesincluding a smart phone, a smart pad, a laptop computer, a portablemultimedia player, an embedded apparatus, and the like to wirelesslyaccess the Internet in home or a company or a specific service providingarea.

One of most famous wireless communication technology is wireless LANtechnology. Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)802.11 has commercialized or developed various technological standardssince an initial wireless LAN technology is supported using frequenciesof 2.4 GHz. First, the IEEE 802.11b supports a communication speed of amaximum of 11 Mbps while using frequencies of a 2.4 GHz band. IEEE802.11a which is commercialized after the IEEE 802.11b uses frequenciesof not the 2.4 GHz band but a 5 GHz band to reduce an influence byinterference as compared with the frequencies of the 2.4 GHz band whichare significantly congested and improves the communication speed up to amaximum of 54 Mbps by using an Orthogonal Frequency DivisionMultiplexing (OFDM) technology. However, the IEEE 802.11a has adisadvantage in that a communication distance is shorter than the IEEE802.11b. In addition, IEEE 802.11g uses the frequencies of the 2.4 GHzband similarly to the IEEE 802.11b to implement the communication speedof a maximum of 54 Mbps and satisfies backward compatibility tosignificantly come into the spotlight and further, is superior to theIEEE 802.11a in terms of the communication distance.

Moreover, as a technology standard established to overcome a limitationof the communication speed which is pointed out as a weak point in awireless LAN, IEEE 802.11n has been provided. The IEEE 802.11n aims atincreasing the speed and reliability of a network and extending anoperating distance of a wireless network. In more detail, the IEEE802.11n supports a high throughput (HT) in which a data processing speedis a maximum of 540 Mbps or more and further, is based on a multipleinputs and multiple outputs (MIMO) technology in which multiple antennasare used at both sides of a transmitting unit and a receiving unit inorder to minimize a transmission error and optimize a data speed.Further, the standard can use a coding scheme that transmits multiplecopies which overlap with each other in order to increase datareliability.

As the supply of the wireless LAN is activated and further, applicationsusing the wireless LAN are diversified, the need for new wireless LANsystems for supporting a higher throughput (very high throughput (VHT))than the data processing speed supported by the IEEE 802.11n has comeinto the spotlight. Among them, IEEE 802.11ac supports a wide bandwidth(80 to 160 MHz) in the 5 GHz frequencies. The IEEE 802.11ac standard isdefined only in the 5 GHz band, but initial 11ac chipsets will supporteven operations in the 2.4 GHz band for the backward compatibility withthe existing 2.4 GHz band products. Theoretically, according to thestandard, wireless LAN speeds of multiple stations are enabled up to aminimum of 1 Gbps and a maximum single link speed is enabled up to aminimum of 500 Mbps. This is achieved by extending concepts of awireless interface accepted by 802.11n, such as a wider wirelessfrequency bandwidth (a maximum of 160 MHz), more MIMO spatial streams (amaximum of 8), multi-user MIMO, and high-density modulation (a maximumof 256 QAM). Further, as a scheme that transmits data by using a 60 GHzband instead of the existing 2.4 GHz/5 GHz, IEEE 802.11ad has beenprovided. The IEEE 802.11ad is a transmission standard that provides aspeed of a maximum of 7 Gbps by using a beamforming technology and issuitable for high bit rate moving picture streaming such as massive dataor non-compression HD video. However, since it is difficult for the 60GHz frequency band to pass through an obstacle, it is disadvantageous inthat the 60 GHz frequency band can be used only among devices in ashort-distance space.

Meanwhile, in recent years, as next-generation wireless communicationtechnology standards after the 802.11ac and 802.11ad, discussion forproviding a high-efficiency and high-performance wireless communicationtechnology in a high-density environment is continuously performed. Thatis, in a next-generation wireless communication technology environment,communication having high frequency efficiency needs to be providedindoors/outdoors under the presence of high-density terminals and baseterminals and various technologies for implementing the communicationare required.

Especially, as the number of devices using a wireless communicationtechnology increases, it is necessary to efficiently use a predeterminedchannel Therefore, required is a technology capable of efficiently usingbandwidths by simultaneously transmitting data between a plurality ofterminals and base terminals.

DISCLOSURE Technical Problem

An object of an embodiment of the present invention is to provide awireless communication terminal supporting multi-user cascadingtransmission.

Technical Solution

According to an embodiment of the present invention, provided is awireless communication terminal that wirelessly communicates. Thewireless communication terminal includes: a transceiver; and aprocessor, wherein the processor is configured to receive a DownlinkMulti-User (DL MU) PPDU including information for an Uplink Multi-User(UL MU) transmission from a base wireless communication terminal byusing the transceiver, and transmit the UL MU PPDU to the base wirelesscommunication terminal based on the information for UL MU transmission.

The information for UL MU transmission may be UL MU response informationincluding transmission scheduling information of a UL MU PPDU includingACK, wherein the UL MU response information may be included in a MACheader.

The processor may be configured to set signaling information indicatingwhether Spatial Reuse (SR) transmission to the UL MU PPDU is allowedsuch that the SR transmission may not be allowed.

The processor may be configured to use a frequency bandwidth of the samesize as a frequency bandwidth of the DL MU PPDU as a BW value of atransmission parameter TXVECTOR of the UL MU PPDU.

The processor may be configured to transmit the UL MU PPDU without usingUL MU-Multi-Input Multi-Output (MIMO).

The processor may be configured to transmit the UL MU PPDU using abinary convolutional coding (BCC) code.

When transmitting the UL MU PPDU, the processor may be configured totransmit a packet extension field according to a length indicated by thebase wireless communication terminal.

The processor may be configured to transmit the UL MU PPDU withoutcarrier sensing.

Whether or not carrier sensing is required when the wirelesscommunication terminal transmits the UL MU PPDU may be determined by alength of the UL MU PPDU transmission duration.

An Aggregate-MAC Protocol Data Unit (A-MPDU) including the UL MUresponse information may not include a trigger MPDU that triggers awireless communication terminal whose UL MU response informationindicates UL MU transmission.

The UL MU transmission information may be a trigger MAC Protocol DataUnit (MPDU) for triggering the UL MU transmission of the wirelesscommunication terminal.

The Aggregate-MPDU (A-MPDU) including the trigger MPDU may include aBlock ACK MPDU as a first MPDU and includes a trigger MPDU as a secondMPDU.

The A-MPDU may include a Block ACK Request (BAR) MPDU as a last MPDU.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, provided is awireless communication terminal that wirelessly communicates. Thewireless communication terminal includes: a transceiver; and aprocessor, wherein the processor is configured to transmit a DownlinkMulti-User (DL MU) PPDU including information for an Uplink Multi-User(UL MU) transmission to a plurality of wireless communication terminalsby using the transceiver, and receive a UL MU PPDU transmitted based onthe information for UL MU transmission from at least one of theplurality of wireless communication terminals.

The information for UL MU transmission may be UL MU response informationincluding transmission scheduling information of a UL MU PPDU includingACK, wherein the UL MU response information may be included in a MACheader.

The processor may be configured to signal a request for an MU-Block ACKfor at least one MPDU among a plurality of MPDUs included in the DL MUPPDU, and when an MU-Block ACK for at least one MPDU is not received,transmit a MU-Block Ack Request (BAR) frame.

The processor may be a trigger MAC Protocol Data Unit (MPDU) fortriggering UL MU transmission of a wireless communication terminal, andan Aggregate-MPDU (A-MPDU) including the trigger MPDU may include theBlock ACK MPDU as a first MPDU and includes the trigger MPDU as a secondMPDU.

The A-MPDU may include a Block ACK Request (BAR) MPDU as a last MPDU.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, provided is anoperation method of a wireless communication terminal that wirelesslycommunicates. The method includes: receiving, from a base wirelesscommunication terminal, a Downlink Multi-User (DL MU) PPDU includinginformation for Uplink Multi-User (UL MU) transmission; and transmittingthe UL MU PPDU based on the information for UL MU transmission to thebase wireless communication terminal.

The information for UL MU transmission may be UL MU response informationincluding transmission scheduling information of a UL MU PPDU includingACK, wherein the UL MU response information may be included in a MACheader.

Advantageous Effects

An embodiment of the present invention provides a communication methodsupporting multi-user cascading transmission and a wirelesscommunication terminal using the same.

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a wireless LAN system according to an embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 2 shows a wireless LAN system according to another embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 3 shows a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a stationaccording to an embodiment of the inventive concept.

FIG. 4 shows a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an accesspoint according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 shows a process that a station sets an access point and a linkaccording to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 shows a format of an A-MPDU used for DL transmission by a basewireless communication terminal according to an embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 7 shows a format of an A-MPDU used for DL transmission by a basewireless communication terminal according to another embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 8 shows an Ack Policy indicated by a value of an Ack Policy fieldof a QoS Control field and the Ack Policy field according to anembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 shows an operation of a wireless communication terminal receivinga Block ACK frame in a cascading transmission according to an embodimentof the present invention.

FIG. 10 shows a method for transmitting an A-MPDU by a wirelesscommunication terminal according to an embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 11 shows a method of transmitting multicast data through an A-MPDUby a wireless communication terminal according to an embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 12 shows an operation of the wireless communication terminalaccording to an embodiment of the present invention to change thereceiver operation mode of the wireless communication terminal.

FIG. 13 shows an operation of transmitting a UL MU PPDU in a MUcascading transmission process according to an embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 14 shows an operation of a wireless communication terminalaccording to an embodiment of the present invention.

MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described belowin more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The presentinvention may, however, be embodied in different forms and should not beconstructed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Parts notrelating to description are omitted in the drawings in order to clearlydescribe the present invention and like reference numerals refer to likeelements throughout.

Furthermore, when it is described that one comprises (or includes orhas) some elements, it should be understood that it may comprise (orinclude or has) only those elements, or it may comprise (or include orhave) other elements as well as those elements if there is no specificlimitation.

This application claims priority to and the benefit of Korean PatentApplication Nos. 10-2016-0044466 (Apr. 11, 2016) and Nos.10-2016-0045120 (Apr. 12, 2016) filed in the Korean IntellectualProperty Office and the embodiments and mentioned items described in therespective applications are included in the Detailed Description of thepresent application.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a wireless communication systemaccording to an embodiment of the present invention. For convenience ofdescription, an embodiment of the present invention is described throughthe wireless LAN system. The wireless LAN system includes one or morebasic service sets (BSS) and the BSS represents a set of apparatuseswhich are successfully synchronized with each other to communicate witheach other. In general, the BSS may be classified into an infrastructureBSS and an independent BSS (IBSS) and FIG. 1 illustrates theinfrastructure BSS between them.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, the infrastructure BSS (BSS1 and BSS2)includes one or more stations STA1, STA2, STA3, STA4, and STA5, accesspoints PCP/AP-1 and PCP/AP-2 which are stations providing a distributionservice, and a distribution system (DS) connecting the multiple accesspoints PCP/AP-1 and PCP/AP-2.

The station (STA) is a predetermined device including medium accesscontrol (MAC) following a regulation of an IEEE 802.11 standard and aphysical layer interface for a wireless medium, and includes both anon-access point (non-AP) station and an access point (AP) in a broadsense. Further, in the present specification, a term ‘terminal’ may beused to refer to a concept including a wireless LAN communication devicesuch as non-AP STA, or an AP, or both terms. A station for wirelesscommunication includes a processor and a transceiver and according tothe embodiment, may further include a user interface unit and a displayunit. The processor may generate a frame to be transmitted through awireless network or process a frame received through the wirelessnetwork and besides, perform various processing for controlling thestation. In addition, the transceiver is functionally connected with theprocessor and transmits and receives frames through the wireless networkfor the station.

The access point (AP) is an entity that provides access to thedistribution system (DS) via wireless medium for the station associatedtherewith. In the infrastructure BSS, communication among non-APstations is, in principle, performed via the AP, but when a direct linkis configured, direct communication is enabled even among the non-APstations. Meanwhile, in the present invention, the AP is used as aconcept including a personal BSS coordination point (PCP) and mayinclude concepts including a centralized controller, a base station(BS), a node-B, a base transceiver system (BTS), and a site controllerin a broad sense.

A plurality of infrastructure BSSs may be connected with each otherthrough the distribution system (DS). In this case, a plurality of BSSsconnected through the distribution system is referred to as an extendedservice set (ESS).

FIG. 2 illustrates an independent BSS which is a wireless communicationsystem according to another embodiment of the present invention. Forconvenience of description, another embodiment of the present inventionis described through the wireless LAN system. In the embodiment of FIG.2, duplicative description of parts, which are the same as or correspondto the embodiment of FIG. 1, will be omitted.

Since a BSS3 illustrated in FIG. 2 is the independent BSS and does notinclude the AP, all stations STA6 and STA7 are not connected with theAP. The independent BSS is not permitted to access the distributionsystem and forms a self-contained network. In the independent BSS, therespective stations STA6 and STA7 may be directly connected with eachother.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a station 100according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, the station 100 according to the embodiment ofthe present invention may include a processor 110, a transceiver 120, auser interface unit 140, a display unit 150, and a memory 160.

First, the transceiver 120 transmits and receives a wireless signal suchas a wireless LAN physical layer frame, or the like and may be embeddedin the station 100 or provided as an exterior. According to theembodiment, the transceiver 120 may include at least one transmit andreceive module using different frequency bands. For example, thetransceiver 120 may include transmit and receive modules havingdifferent frequency bands such as 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and 60 GHz. Accordingto an embodiment, the station 100 may include a transmit and receivemodule using a frequency band of 6 GHz or more and a transmit andreceive module using a frequency band of 6 GHz or less. The respectivetransmit and receive modules may perform wireless communication with theAP or an external station according to a wireless LAN standard of afrequency band supported by the corresponding transmit and receivemodule. The transceiver 120 may operate only one transmit and receivemodule at a time or simultaneously operate multiple transmit and receivemodules together according to the performance and requirements of thestation 100. When the station 100 includes a plurality of transmit andreceive modules, each transmit and receive module may be implemented byindependent elements or a plurality of modules may be integrated intoone chip.

Next, the user interface unit 140 includes various types of input/outputmeans provided in the station 100. That is, the user interface unit 140may receive a user input by using various input means and the processor110 may control the station 100 based on the received user input.Further, the user interface unit 140 may perform output based on acommand of the processor 110 by using various output means.

Next, the display unit 150 outputs an image on a display screen. Thedisplay unit 150 may output various display objects such as contentsexecuted by the processor 110 or a user interface based on a controlcommand of the processor 110, and the like. Further, the memory 160stores a control program used in the station 100 and various resultingdata. The control program may include an access program required for thestation 100 to access the AP or the external station.

The processor 110 of the present invention may execute various commandsor programs and process data in the station 100. Further, the processor110 may control the respective units of the station 100 and control datatransmission/reception among the units. According to the embodiment ofthe present invention, the processor 110 may execute the program foraccessing the AP stored in the memory 160 and receive a communicationconfiguration message transmitted by the AP. Further, the processor 110may read information on a priority condition of the station 100 includedin the communication configuration message and request the access to theAP based on the information on the priority condition of the station100. The processor 110 of the present invention may represent a maincontrol unit of the station 100 and according to the embodiment, theprocessor 110 may represent a control unit for individually controllingsome component of the station 100, for example, the transceiver 120, andthe like. The processor 110 may be a modulator and/or demodulator whichmodulates wireless signal transmitted to the transceiver 120 anddemodulates wireless signal received from the transceiver 120. Theprocessor 110 controls various operations of wireless signaltransmission/reception of the station 100 according to the embodiment ofthe present invention. A detailed embodiment thereof will be describedbelow.

The station 100 illustrated in FIG. 3 is a block diagram according to anembodiment of the present invention, where separate blocks areillustrated as logically distinguished elements of the device.Accordingly, the elements of the device may be mounted in a single chipor multiple chips depending on design of the device. For example, theprocessor 110 and the transceiver 120 may be implemented while beingintegrated into a single chip or implemented as a separate chip.Further, in the embodiment of the present invention, some components ofthe station 100, for example, the user interface unit 140 and thedisplay unit 150 may be optionally provided in the station 100.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an AP 200according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As illustrated in FIG. 4, the AP 200 according to the embodiment of thepresent invention may include a processor 210, a transceiver 220, and amemory 260. In FIG. 4, among the components of the AP 200, duplicativedescription of parts which are the same as or correspond to thecomponents of the station 100 of FIG. 2 will be omitted.

Referring to FIG. 4, the AP 200 according to the present inventionincludes the transceiver 220 for operating the BSS in at least onefrequency band. As described in the embodiment of FIG. 3, thetransceiver 220 of the AP 200 may also include a plurality of transmitand receive modules using different frequency bands. That is, the AP 200according to the embodiment of the present invention may include two ormore transmit and receive modules among different frequency bands, forexample, 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and 60 GHz together. Preferably, the AP 200 mayinclude a transmit and receive module using a frequency band of 6 GHz ormore and a transmit and receive module using a frequency band of 6 GHzor less. The respective transmit and receive modules may performwireless communication with the station according to a wireless LANstandard of a frequency band supported by the corresponding transmit andreceive module. The transceiver 220 may operate only one transmit andreceive module at a time or simultaneously operate multiple transmit andreceive modules together according to the performance and requirementsof the AP 200.

Next, the memory 260 stores a control program used in the AP 200 andvarious resulting data. The control program may include an accessprogram for managing the access of the station. Further, the processor210 may control the respective units of the AP 200 and control datatransmission/reception among the units. According to the embodiment ofthe present invention, the processor 210 may execute the program foraccessing the station stored in the memory 260 and transmitcommunication configuration messages for one or more stations. In thiscase, the communication configuration messages may include informationabout access priority conditions of the respective stations. Further,the processor 210 performs an access configuration according to anaccess request of the station. The processor 210 may be a modulatorand/or demodulator which modulates wireless signal transmitted to thetransceiver 220 and demodulates wireless signal received from thetransceiver 220. The processor 210 controls various operations such asradio signal transmission/reception of the AP 200 according to theembodiment of the present invention. A detailed embodiment thereof willbe described below.

FIG. 5 is a diagram schematically illustrating a process in which a STAsets a link with an AP.

Referring to FIG. 5, the link between the STA 100 and the AP 200 is setthrough three steps of scanning, authentication, and association in abroad way. First, the scanning step is a step in which the STA 100obtains access information of BSS operated by the AP 200. A method forperforming the scanning includes a passive scanning method in which theAP 200 obtains information by using a beacon message (S101) which isperiodically transmitted and an active scanning method in which the STA100 transmits a probe request to the AP (S103) and obtains accessinformation by receiving a probe response from the AP (S105).

The STA 100 that successfully receives wireless access information inthe scanning step performs the authentication step by transmitting anauthentication request (S107 a) and receiving an authentication responsefrom the AP 200 (S107 b). After the authentication step is performed,the STA 100 performs the association step by transmitting an associationrequest (S109 a) and receiving an association response from the AP 200(S109 b).

Meanwhile, an 802.1X based authentication step (S111) and an IP addressobtaining step (S113) through DHCP may be additionally performed. InFIG. 5, the authentication server 300 is a server that processes 802.1Xbased authentication with the STA 100 and may be present in physicalassociation with the AP 200 or present as a separate server.

In a specific embodiment, the AP 200 may be a wireless communicationterminal that allocates a communication medium resource and performsscheduling in an independent network, such as an ad-hoc network, whichis not connected to an external distribution service. In addition, theAP 200 may be at least one of a base station, an eNB, and a transmissionpoint TP. The AP 200 may also be referred to as a base wirelesscommunication terminal.

One Transmission Opportunity (TXOP) may include downlink (DL)transmission and uplink (UL) transmission. Specifically, a wirelesscommunication terminal, which is an AP, performs DL transmission in oneTXOP, and a non-AP wireless communication terminal may start ULtransmission in succession to DL transmission. In addition, the non-APwireless communication terminal performs UL transmission in one TXOP,and the wireless communication terminal, which is an AP, may start DLtransmission in succession to UL transmission. One TXOP includes both DLtransmission and UL transmission, and the continuity between DLtransmission and UL transmission is referred to as cascading. The basewireless communication terminal may transmit information for UL MUtransmission when transmitting the DL MU PPDU for cascadingtransmission. Specifically, the base wireless communication terminal maytransmit a DL MU PPDU including an MPDU including UL MU responseinformation. In this case, the UL MU response information may beinformation included in the MAC header. Specifically, the UL MU responseinformation may be information for scheduling a trigger-based PPDUincluding an ACK. In a specific embodiment, the UL MU responseinformation may be information for scheduling a trigger-based PPDU thatincludes an immediate ACK. In addition, the base wireless communicationterminal may transmit the DL MU PPDU including the trigger MPDU. Thetrigger MPDU is an MPDU that triggers UL transmission of one or aplurality of wireless communication terminals. A plurality of wirelesscommunication terminals may simultaneously transmit UL PPDU based oninformation for UL MU transmission. Specifically, a plurality ofwireless communication terminals may transmit OFDMA UL PPDU based on ULMU transmission information. The information for UL MU transmission willbe described in detail with reference to FIG. 6 to FIG. 7.

FIG. 6 shows a format of an A-MPDU used for DL transmission by a basewireless communication terminal according to an embodiment of thepresent invention.

A physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU) may include a PHY preamble, apayload, and a tail and padding bits (T & P). The PHY preamble mayinclude a plurality of fields. Specifically, the PHY preamble mayinclude an L-LTF and an L-STF including a training signal for a legacywireless communication terminal. In addition, the PHY preamble mayinclude an L-SIG field including signaling information for a legacywireless communication terminal. The PHY preamble may also include anRL-SIG field to support auto detection of the PPDU format. In addition,the PHY preamble may include an HE-SIG-A field including signalinginformation for a non-legacy wireless communication terminal. Inaddition, the PHY preamble may include an HE-SIG-B field includingsignaling information for a non-legacy wireless communication terminal.In addition, the PHY preamble may include an HE-LTF and an HE-STFincluding training signals for non-legacy wireless communicationterminals. In addition, the PHY preamble may include a service field.Specifically, the format of the PPDU may be the same as that of theembodiment of FIG. 6(a).

A PPDU may include one or a plurality of MPDUs. The MPDU may include aFrame Control field including information on frame control. In addition,the MPDU may include a Duration/ID field which indicates an identifierof the MPDU or the TXOP duration set by the MPDU. Also, the MPDU mayinclude at least one of an Address 1 field, an Address 2 field, anAddress 3 field, and an Address 4 field indicating an address related totransmission and reception of the MPDU. In addition, the MPDU mayinclude a Sequence Control field indicating information on the sequence.In addition, the MPDU field may include a QoS Control field for QoScontrol. In addition, the MPDU may include an HT Control field for HighThroughput (HT) control. In addition, the MPDU may include a Frame Bodyfield including an MSDU. Also, the MPDU may include an FCS field fordetermining whether the MPDU includes an error. Specifically, the formatof the MPDU may be the same as that of the embodiment of FIG. 6(b).

The QoS Control field may include a TID field indicating a TID of datato which the QoS Control field is applied. In addition, the QoS Controlfield may include an EOSP field indicating the end of the currentservice period. The QoS Control field may include an ACK Policy fieldindicating an ACK transmission method to be transmitted by the terminalthat has received the data to which the QoS field is applied. The valueindicated by the ACK Policy field will be described in detail withreference to FIG. 8. In addition, the QoS Control field may include anA-MSDU Present field indicating the type of the A-MSDU. In addition, theQoS Control field may include an AP PS Buffer State field indicating aPS buffer state. Specifically, the format of the QoS Control field maybe the same as that of the embodiment of FIG. 6(c).

The HT Control field may include a VHT field indicating whether theinformation indicated by the HT Control field is Very High Throughput(VHT) control information. In addition, the HT Control field may includea HE field indicating whether the information indicated by the HTControl field is HE control information. In addition, the HT Controlfield may include an Aggregated Control (A-Control) field including aplurality of subfields representing information on control.

A sub-field included in the A-Control field may include a Control IDfield for identifying control information included in the sub-field anda Control Information field for indicating control information includedin the sub-field. Specifically, the sub-field included in the A-Controlfield includes UL MU response information, which is information for anuplink (UL) MU PPDU response to a downlink (DL) multi-user (MU) PPDU. Inthis case, the value of the Control ID field may be 0. In a specificembodiment, the UL MU response information may be used in the DL SUPPDU. This will be described with reference to FIG. 12. In addition, thesub-field included in the A-Control field may include information on thechange of the receiver operation mode. Specifically, the information onthe receiver operation mode change may be the Receiver Operating ModeIndication (ROMI) of the operation mode to be changed. In this case, thevalue of the Control ID field may be 1. In addition, the sub-fieldincluded in the A-Control field may include information on linkadaptation. In this case, the value of the Control ID field may be 2.

The base wireless communication terminal may perform MU cascadingtransmission with a plurality of wireless communication terminals thatreceive UL MU response information using UL MU response information.Specifically, the base wireless communication terminal may transmit ULMU response information through the A-Control field while transmittingdata through the DL MU PPDU. A plurality of wireless communicationterminals that have received the DL MU PPDU from the base wirelesscommunication terminal may transmit the UL MU PPDU based on the UL MUresponse information. The base wireless communication terminal may beallowed to transmit UL MU response information to wireless communicationterminals having Capabilities for supporting UL MU transmission based onUL MU response information. Also, the base wireless communicationterminal may not be allowed to simultaneously transmit the trigger MPDUand the UL MU response information in a single PPDU to the same wirelesscommunication terminal. This will be described with reference to FIG. 7.

FIG. 7 shows a format of an A-MPDU used for DL transmission by a basewireless communication terminal according to another embodiment of thepresent invention.

The base wireless communication terminal may transmit at least one ofthe control MPDU and the management MPDU together with the data MPDUthrough the A-MPDU. Therefore, the base wireless communication terminalmay transmit the trigger MPDU among the control MPDU together with thedata MPDU.

The trigger MPDU may include a Frame Control field including informationon frame control. In addition, the trigger MPDU may include Duration/IDfield which indicates an identifier of the MPDU or the TXOP duration setby the MPDU. In addition, the trigger MPDU may include an RA fieldindicating a receiver address of the trigger MPDU and a TA fieldindicating a transmitter address of the trigger MPDU.

Also, the trigger MPDU may include a Common Info field indicatinginformation that is common to a plurality of wireless communicationterminals receiving the trigger MPDU. In addition, the trigger MPDU mayinclude a Per User Info field indicating information on each of aplurality of wireless communication terminals receiving the triggerMPDU. Also, the trigger MPDU may include padding for alignment upontransmission. Also, the trigger MPDU may include an FCS field fordetermining whether the MPDU includes an error. Specifically, the formatof the trigger MPDU may be the same as that of the embodiment of FIG.7(b).

The Common Info field may include a length field indicating the lengthof the UL MU PPDU transmitted based on the trigger MPDU. Specifically,the Length field may indicate the value of the L-SIG length field of theUL MU PPDU transmitted based on the trigger MPDU. Also, the Common Infofield may include a Cascade Indication field indicating whethercascading transmission is performed in the TWT operation and the powersave operation. In addition, the Common Info field may include a CSRequired field indicating whether carrier sensing is required when thewireless communication terminal receiving the trigger MPDU transmits theUL MU PPDU based on the trigger MPDU. In addition, the Common Info fieldmay include a Spatial Reuse field indicating information related to theSR operation of the UL MU PPDU transmitted based on the trigger MPDU. Inaddition, the Common Info field may include BW field informationindicating the bandwidth of the HE SIG-A field of the UL MU PPDUtransmitted based on the trigger MPDU. The BW field indicates the BWfield value of the transmission parameter TXVECTOR of the UL MU PPDU.Specifically, the BW field may signal a value of one of 20, 40, 80, and160 (80+80) MHz. In addition, the Common Info field may include a CP/LTFType field indicating an LTF type of the UL MU PPDU transmitted based onthe trigger MPDU. In addition, the Common Info field may include anMU-MIMO of the UL MU PPDU transmitted based on the trigger MPDU and anMU-MIMO LTF Mode field indicating the LTF mode. In addition, the CommonInfo field may include a Number of LTFs field indicating the number ofLTF symbols of the UL MU PPDU transmitted based on the trigger MPDU. Inaddition, the Common Info field may include an STBC field indicatingwhether STBC encoding is applied to the UL MU PPDU transmitted based onthe trigger MPDU. In addition, the Common Info field may include an LDPCExtra field indicating the status of the LDPC additional symbol segmentin the UL MU PPDU transmitted based on the trigger MPDU. In addition,the Common Info field may include an AP TX Power field indicating thetransmission power used for UL MU PPDU transmission transmitted based onthe trigger MPDU. In this case, the AP TX Power field may indicate thetransmission power in 20 MHz units. In addition, the Common Info fieldmay include a Packet Extension field indicating a packet extensionlength of the UL MU PPDU transmitted based on the trigger MPDU. Inaddition, the Common Info field may include a Trigger Type fieldindicating the type of the trigger MPDU. In addition, the Common Infofield may include a Trigger Dependent Common Info field whichinformation varies depending on the type of the trigger MPDU.

If the type of the trigger MPDU indicated by the Trigger Type field isMU-BAR, the Trigger Dependent Common Info field may include informationon Groupcast with retries (GCR). Specifically, the Trigger DependentCommon Info field may include a GCR Indication field indicating whetherthe MU-BAR is a GCR MU-BAR. In addition, the Trigger Dependent CommonInfo field may include a GCR Address field indicating a GCR address. Theformat of the concrete Common Info field may be the same as that of theembodiment of FIG. 7(c).

The Per User Info field may include a User ID field that identifies awireless communication terminal corresponding to the Per User Infofield. Also, the Per User Info field may include an RU Allocation fieldindicating information on a Resource Unit (RU) to be used by thewireless communication terminal corresponding to the Per User Info fieldin transmitting the UL MU PPDU. In addition, the Per User Info field mayinclude a Coding Type indicating a coding type to be used when thewireless communication terminal corresponding to the Per User Info fieldtransmits the UL MU PPDU. In addition, the Per User Info field mayinclude an MCS field indicating information on a Modulation and CodingScheme (MCS) to be used by the wireless communication terminalcorresponding to the Per User Info field in transmitting the UL MU PPDU.In addition, the Per User Info field may include a DCM field indicatingwhether the wireless communication terminal corresponding to the PerUser Info field uses the dual carrier modulation when transmitting theUL MU PPDU. In addition, the Per User Info field may include an SSAllocation field indicating information on a spatial stream used by thewireless communication terminal corresponding to the Per User Info fieldin transmitting the UL MU PPDU. Also, the Per User Info field mayinclude a Target RSSI field indicating a target received signalstrength, which is a signal strength at which the UL MU PPDUtransmission signal transmitted by the wireless communication terminalcorresponding to the Per User Info field is properly received. Also, thePer User Info field may include a Trigger Dependent Per User Info fieldincluding information according to the trigger type.

If the type of the trigger MPDU indicated by the Trigger Type field isMU-BAR, the Trigger Dependent Per User Info field may include a BARControl field and a BAR Info field. The BAR Control field may include aBAR Ack Policy field indicating the ACK method designated for theMU-BAR. In addition, the BAR Control field may include a Multi-TID fieldindicating whether ACK transmission for multiple TIDs is requested. Inaddition, the BAR Control field may include a compressed Bitmap fieldindicating whether compressed bitmap-type Block ACK transmission isrequested. In addition, the BAR Control field may include a GCR fieldindicating whether a GCR Block ACK transmission is requested. Inaddition, the BAR Control field may include a TID/Num TIDs fieldindicating information on a TID of data for which ACK transmission isrequested. The information that the BA Info field represents depends onthe BAR Control field. Specifically, when the value of the Multi-TIDfield of the BAR Control field is 1, the BAR Control field may requestan ACK for a plurality of TIDs. In this case, the BAR Info field mayinclude a Per TID Info field indicating a TID of data requesting an ACKand a BA SSN field indicating a first sequence number requesting an ACKthrough a Block ACK. Also, when the value of the GCR field is 1, theMU-BAR may request the GCR transmission. In this case, the BAR Infofield may include a BA SSN field indicating a first sequence numberrequesting an ACK and a GCR Address field indicating a GCR address. Inanother specific embodiment, the BAR Info field may include a Per TIDInfo field indicating a TID of data requesting an ACK and a BA SSN fieldindicating a first sequence number requesting an ACK through a BlockACK. The Common Info field includes the GCR Address field to reduceunnecessary repetitive transmissions. The specific format of the PerUser Info field may be as shown in FIG. 7(d).

FIG. 8 shows an Ack Policy indicated by a value of an Ack Policy fieldof a QoS Control field and the Ack Policy field according to anembodiment of the present invention.

The wireless communication terminal that has transmitted the data mayrequest the wireless communication terminal that has received the datato transmit the ACK and designate the format of the ACK. The wirelesscommunication terminal that has transmitted the data may request the ACKtransmission to the wireless communication terminal that has receivedthe data through the Ack Policy field of the QoS Control field of theMAC header and designate the format of the ACK. Specifically, thewireless communication terminal that has transmitted the data mayrequest immediate transmission of an ACK frame or immediate transmissionof a Block ACK frame to the wireless communication terminal that hasreceived the data. In this case, the wireless communication terminalthat has transmitted the data may set the value of the Ack Policy fieldof the QoS Control field to 0(00b). An immediate transmission requestmay be to request to transmit a response within a certain period of timefrom when the data was received or from when the request was received.In a specific embodiment, the time may be short inter-frame space(SIFS). In addition, the wireless communication terminal that hastransmitted the data may request the wireless communication terminalthat received the data to transmit the implied ACK or transmit the PSMPACK. In this case, the wireless communication terminal that hastransmitted the data may set the value of the Ack Policy field of theQoS Control field to 1(01b). In addition, the wireless communicationterminal may signal to the wireless communication terminal which hasreceived the data that it does not request the transmission of the ACK.In this case, the wireless communication terminal that has transmittedthe data may set the value of the Ack Policy field of the QoS Controlfield to 2(10b). In addition, the wireless communication terminal thathas transmitted the data may signal to the wireless communicationterminal that received the data that the wireless communication terminalthat has transmitted the data will request the transmission of the BlockACK frame. In this case, the wireless communication terminal that hastransmitted the data may set the value of the Ack Policy field of theQoS Control field to 3(11b). Also, the wireless communication terminalthat has transmitted the data may request the wireless communicationterminal that has received the data to transmit the MU ACK. In thiscase, the wireless communication terminal that has transmitted the datamay set the value of the Ack Policy field of the QoS Control field to1(01b).

In addition, the wireless communication terminal that has transmittedthe data transmits the BAR frame to the wireless communication terminalthat has received the data to request the immediate transmission of theBlock ACK. In addition, the wireless communication terminal that hastransmitted the data transmits the MU-BAR frame to the wirelesscommunication terminal that has received the data to request theimmediate transmission of the MU-Block ACK.

In the MU cascading transmission, the base wireless communicationterminal may request immediate transmission of an MU-Block ACK frame fordata transmission to the wireless communication terminal that hasreceived the data. Specifically, the base wireless communicationterminal may request immediate transmission of an MU-Block ACK for datatransmission to a wireless communication terminal receiving data throughan Ack Policy field of a QoS Control field or an MU-BAR frame. A methodof setting an ACK policy field value in a cascading transmission and amethod of transmitting/receiving a Block ACK frame will be describedwith reference to FIG. 9.

FIG. 9 shows an operation of a wireless communication terminal receivinga Block ACK frame in a cascading transmission according to an embodimentof the present invention.

The wireless communication terminal transmitting the SU PPDU may requestimmediate ACK transmission for at least one of the A-MPDUs included inthe SU PPDU to the wireless communication terminal receiving the SU PPDUwithout information for the separate UL MU transmission. In this case,the wireless communication terminal transmitting the SU PPDU may set theAck Policy field value of the QoS Control field to 0(00b). This isbecause the wireless communication terminal transmitting UL SU PPDU doesnot need additional resource allocation information for UL MUtransmission.

The wireless communication terminal transmitting the SU PPDU maytransmit the UL MU response information to the wireless communicationterminal receiving the SU PPDU and trigger the wireless communicationterminal receiving the SU PPDU to transmit the data and the ACKtogether. The wireless communication terminal receiving the SU PPDU maytransmit data together with the ACK when the MPDU included in the SUPPDU includes the UL MU response information.

The wireless communication terminal receiving the SU PPDU may transmitdata in the uplink transmission duration indicated by the informationfor UL MU transmission. Specifically, the wireless communicationterminal receiving the SU PPDU may transmit data for a time durationequal to or shorter than the uplink transmission duration indicated bythe information for UL MU transmission. In this case, the uplinktransmission duration may be a duration indicated by the UL PPDU Lengthfield of the UL MU response information described above. The uplinktransmission duration may be a duration indicated by the length field ofthe Common Info field of the trigger MPDU. In this case, the uplinktransmission duration may be limited to the TXOP duration obtained bythe wireless communication terminal that transmits the SU PPDU.Therefore, the wireless communication terminal transmitting the SU PPDUmay set the uplink transmission duration to within the TXOP durationobtained by the wireless communication terminal that transmits the SUPPDU.

In addition, the wireless communication terminal receiving the SU PPDUmay transmit ACK and data using the MCS indicated by the information forUL MU transmission. In another specific embodiment, the wirelesscommunication terminal receiving the SU PPDU may determine that the MCSindicated by the information for UL MU transmission is an MCSrecommended by the wireless communication terminal that transmitted theSU PPDU, and may transmit ACK and data using an MCS other than the MCSindicated by the information for UL MU transmission. In this case, ACKand data may be transmitted at the primary rate calculated by thewireless communication terminal receiving the SU PPDU.

In addition, the wireless communication terminal receiving the SU PPDUmay not decode the RU allocation information included in the informationfor UL MU transmission. The RU allocation information may be informationrepresented by the RU Allocation field included in the UL MU responseinformation. Also, the RU allocation information may be informationrepresented by the RU Allocation field of the Per User Info field of thetrigger MPDU.

Further, when the base wireless communication terminal triggers the ULSU PPDU transmission, the base wireless communication terminal may beallowed to transmit information for UL MU transmission to wirelesscommunication terminals that do not have Capabilities that support UL MUtransmission.

In an embodiment of FIG. 9A, the base wireless communication terminaltransmits an SU PPDU including data MPDU(Data1, Data2) including UL MUresponse information to the first station STA1. In this case, the basewireless communication terminal sets the Ack Policy field value of theQoS Control field to 0(00b). The first station STA1 receives the SU PPDUfrom the base wireless communication terminal. The first station STA1transmits the data MPDU together based on the UL MU response informationwhile transmitting a Block ACK frame for the received MPDU(Data1/Data2)based on the Ack Policy field of the QoS Control field.

When transmitting the A-MPDU, the base wireless communication terminalmay configure the HT Control field of all the MPDUs included in theA-MPDU to be the same. In this case, the MPDUs included in the A-MPDUmay have different Ack Policy field values. In this case, when thewireless communication terminal receiving the A-MPDU receives only onedata MPDU, the wireless communication terminal receiving the A-MPDU maynot transmit an ACK according to the ACK Policy field of the QoS Controlfield.

In an embodiment of FIG. 9(b), the base wireless communication terminaltransmits DL MU PPDUs to the first station STA1 to the third stationSTA3. In this case, the base wireless communication terminal sets theACK Policy field values of the QoS control fields of the MPDUstransmitted to the first station STA1, the second station STA2, and thethird station STA3 differently from each other. The base wirelesscommunication terminal sets the ACK Policy field value of the first dataMPDU(Data1) to be transmitted to the second station STA2 to 1(01b).Also, the base wireless communication terminal sets the ACK Policy fieldvalue of the second data MPDU(Data2) to be transmitted to the secondstation STA2 to 3(11b). According to an embodiment of the presentinvention, since the HT Control field values of all MPDUs included inA-MPDU must be the same, the base wireless communication terminalinserts the UL MU response information into the HT Control field of thefirst data MPDU(Data1) and the HT Control field of the second dataMPDU(Data2). In this case, the second station STA2 receives only thesecond data MPDU(Data2) from the base wireless communication terminal.However, since the ACK Policy field value of the second data MPDU(Data2)is 3(11b), the second station STA2 does not transmit a Block ACK frameuntil it receives another BAR MPDU. In this case, the UL MU responseinformation set in the second data MPDU(Data2) transmitted from the basewireless communication terminal to the second station STA2 is not used.Therefore, when transmitting the A-MPDU, the base wireless communicationterminal may differently set HT Control fields of all the MPDUs includedin the A-MPDU.

If the base wireless communication terminal requests immediatetransmission of an MU-Block ACK frame to one or a plurality of wirelesscommunication terminals but fails to receive an MU-Block ACK frame, thebase wireless communication terminal may transmit an MU-BAR frame to oneor a plurality of wireless communication terminals. Specifically, if thebase wireless communication terminal requests the transmission of theMU-Block ACK frame by setting the Ack Policy field of the HT Controlfield to 1(01b) but fails to receive the MU-Block ACK frame, the basewireless communication terminal may transmit an MU-BAR frame to one or aplurality of wireless communication terminals. In a specific embodiment,if the base wireless communication terminal transmits UL MU responseinformation for MU-Block ACK transmission to one or a plurality ofwireless communication terminals and sets the Ack Policy field of the HTControl field to 1(01b) to request the MU-Block ACK frame transmissionbut the MU-Block ACK frame is not received, the base wirelesscommunication terminal may transmit an MU-BAR frame to one or aplurality of wireless communication terminals. Also, if the basewireless communication terminal transmits an MU-BAR MPDU fortransmitting an MU-Block ACK to one or a plurality of wirelesscommunication terminals and sets the Ack Policy field of the HT Controlfield to 1(01b) to request the MU-Block ACK frame transmission but theMU-Block ACK frame is not received, the base wireless communicationterminal may transmit an MU-BAR frame to one or a plurality of wirelesscommunication terminals.

In an embodiment of FIG. 9(c), the base wireless communication terminaltransmits the A-MPDU to the first station STA1 to the third stationSTA3. In this case, the base wireless communication terminal sets theAck Policy field of the HT Control field of some of the MPDUstransmitted to the first station STA1 to the third station STA3 to1(01b). Also, the base wireless communication terminal transmits UL MUresponse information for MU-Block ACK frame transmission to the firststation STA1 and the third station STA3, and transmits a trigger MPDUfor MU-Block ACK frame transmission to the second station SAT2. In thiscase, the first station STA1 fails to receive UL MU response informationfrom the base wireless communication terminal. Also, the second stationSTA2 fails to receive the trigger MPDU from the base wirelesscommunication terminal. Therefore, only the third station STA3 transmitsthe MU-Block ACK frame to the base wireless communication terminalimmediately. The base wireless communication terminal transmits anMU-BAR frame to the first station STA1 to the third station STA3 torequest transmission of an MU-Block ACK frame. In this case, the basewireless communication terminal sets the ACK Policy field to 1(01b) forthe first station STA1 and the second station STA2 but requests thethird station STA3 to transmit an ACK for the MPDU that does not receivethe Block ACK, and requests the third station STA3 to transmit the ACKfor the MPDU having the ACK Policy field set to 3(11b). The first tothird stations STA1 to STA3 transmit an MU-Block ACK frame to the basewireless communication terminal.

FIG. 10 shows a method for transmitting an A-MPDU by a wirelesscommunication terminal according to an embodiment of the presentinvention.

As described above, the wireless communication terminal may transmit atleast one of the control MPDU and the management MPDU together with thedata MPDU through the A-MPDU. The wireless communication terminal maytransmit the A-MPDU including the Block ACK MPDU, the BAR MPDU, and thedata MPDU. When the wireless communication terminal transmits the A-MPDUincluding the Block ACK MPDU, the BAR MPDU and the data MPDU, thewireless communication terminal may transmit the Block ACK MPDU to thefirst MPDU of the A-MPDU. In addition, when the wireless communicationterminal transmits the A-MPDU including the Block ACK MPDU, the BARMPDU, and the data MPDU, the wireless communication terminal maytransmit the BAR MPDU to the last MPDU of the A-MPDU. Specifically, whena wireless communication terminal transmits an A-MPDU including a BlockACK MPDU, a BAR MPDU, and a data MPDU, the wireless communicationterminal may transmit the Block ACK MPDU to the first MPDU of the A-MPDUand the BAR MPDU to the last MPDU of the A-MPDU. The wirelesscommunication terminal receiving the A-MPDU may receive the Block ACKMPDU and remove the MPDU indicated by the Block ACK MPDU in thetransmission buffer. Specifically, the wireless communication terminalmay transmit the A-MPDU including the Block ACK MPDU as the first MPDUand the BAR MPDU as the last MPDU as shown in FIG. 10(a). In this case,the wireless communication terminal receiving the A-MPDU may transmitthe A-MPDU including the Block ACK MPDU as the first MPDU and the BARMPDU as the last MPDU in response to the received A-MPDU.

The base wireless communication terminal may transmit the trigger MPDUtogether with the data MPDU. In this case, the trigger MPDU indicatesresource allocation information for uplink transmission. Specifically,the base wireless communication terminal may transmit an A-MPDUincluding a trigger MPDU, a Block ACK MPDU, a BAR MPDU, and a data MPDU.In a specific embodiment, when the base wireless communication terminaltransmits an A-MPDU including a trigger MPDU, a Block ACK MPDU, a BARMPDU, and a data MPDU, the base wireless communication terminal maytransmit the trigger MPDU as the first MPDU of the A-MPDU. Further, whenthe base wireless communication terminal transmits the A-MPDU includingthe trigger MPDU, the Block ACK MPDU, the BAR MPDU, and the data MPDU,the base wireless communication terminal may transmit the Block ACK MPDUas the second MPDU of the A-MPDU. Specifically, when the base wirelesscommunication terminal transmits an A-MPDU including a trigger MPDU, aBlock ACK MPDU, a BAR MPDU and a data MPDU, as in an embodiment of FIG.10(b), the base wireless communication terminal may transmit the A-MPDUincluding the trigger MPDU as the first MPDU of the A-MPDU, includingthe Block ACK MPDU as the second MPDU of the A-MPDU, and including theBAR MPDU as the last MPDU. In this case, the wireless communicationterminal receiving the A-MPDU may transmit the A-MPDU including theBlock ACK MPDU as the first MPDU and the BAR MPDU as the last MPDU inresponse to the received A-MPDU. When the base wireless communicationterminal transmits the trigger MPDU as the first MPDU of the A-MPDU, itis possible to reduce the processing burden for the wirelesscommunication terminal receiving the A-MPDU to prepare for uplinktransmission up to the uplink transmission start time point. However, insuch embodiments, the wireless communication terminal receiving theA-MPDU may remove the MPDU received by the base wireless communicationterminal relatively late in the transmission buffer.

In another specific embodiment, when the base wireless communicationterminal transmits an A-MPDU including a trigger MPDU, a Block ACK MPDU,a BAR MPDU, and a data MPDU, the base wireless communication terminalmay transmit the Block ACK MPDU as the first MPDU of the A-MPDU.Further, when the base wireless communication terminal transmits theA-MPDU including the trigger MPDU, the Block ACK MPDU, the BAR MPDU, andthe data MPDU, the base wireless communication terminal may transmit thetrigger MPDU as the second MPDU of the A-MPDU. Further, when the basewireless communication terminal transmits the A-MPDU including thetrigger MPDU, the Block ACK MPDU, the BAR MPDU, and the data MPDU, thebase wireless communication terminal may transmit the BAR MPDU as thelast MPDU of the A-MPDU. Specifically, when the base wirelesscommunication terminal transmits an A-MPDU including a trigger MPDU, aBlock ACK MPDU, a BAR MPDU and a data MPDU, as in an embodiment of FIG.10(c), the base wireless communication terminal may transmit the A-MPDUincluding the Block ACK MPDU as the first MPDU of the A-MPDU, includingthe trigger MPDU as the second MPDU of the A-MPDU, and including the BARMPDU as the last MPDU. In this case, the wireless communication terminalreceiving the A-MPDU may transmit the A-MPDU including the Block ACKMPDU as the first MPDU and the BAR MPDU as the last MPDU in response tothe received A-MPDU. When the base wireless communication terminaltransmits the Block ACK MPDU to the first MPDU of the A-MPDU and thetrigger MPDU to the second MPDU of the A-MPDU, it is possible to reducethe processing burden for the wireless communication terminal receivingthe A-MPDU to prepare for uplink transmission up to the uplinktransmission start time point. In this case, the wireless communicationterminal receiving the A-MPDU may relatively quickly remove the MPDUreceived by the base wireless communication terminal in the transmissionbuffer.

FIG. 11 shows a method of transmitting multicast data through an A-MPDUby a wireless communication terminal according to an embodiment of thepresent invention.

As described with reference to FIG. 7, the base wireless communicationterminal may transmit the MU-BAR frame, which is a variant of thetrigger frame. Specifically, the base wireless communication terminalmay transmit an MU-BAR frame and request transmission of MU-Block ACKsof a plurality of wireless communication terminals receiving the MU-BARframe. The base wireless communication terminal may simplify a procedurerequired for receiving a Block ACK frame from a plurality of wirelesscommunication terminals. In an embodiment of FIG. 11(a), the basewireless communication terminal transmits multicast data to the firststation STA1 to the third station STA3. In this case, the base wirelesscommunication terminal sets the Ack Policy field of the QoS Controlfield to 3(11b) to signal to the first station STA1 to the third stationSTA3 to request transmission of a Block ACK frame. The base wirelesscommunication terminal transmits the MU-BAR frame to the first stationSTA1 to the third station STA3. The first to third stations STA1 to STA3transmit an MU-Block ACK frame to the base wireless communicationterminal.

The base wireless communication terminal may transmit the A-MPDUincluding the MU-BAR MPDU and the data MPDU. When the base wirelesscommunication terminal transmits the A-MPDU including the MU-BAR MPDUand the data MPDU, the base wireless communication terminal may transmitthe MU-BAR MPDU as the last MPDU of the A-MPDU. In this case, the basewireless communication terminal may transmit padding after the MU-BARMPDU transmission. In an embodiment of FIG. 11(b), the base wirelesscommunication terminal transmits multicast data to the first stationSTA1 to the third station STA3. In this case, the base wirelesscommunication terminal sets the Ack Policy field of the QoS Controlfield to 3(11b) to signal to the first station STA1 to the third stationSTA3 to request transmission of a Block ACK frame. The base wirelesscommunication terminal transmits the A-MPDU including the MU-BAR frameand the data frame to the first station STA1 to the third station STA3.In this case, the base wireless communication terminal transmits theMU-BAR frame as the last MPDU of the A-MPDU. Also, the base wirelesscommunication terminal transmits padding after the MU-BAR frametransmission. The first to third stations STA1 to STA3 transmit anMU-Block ACK frame to the base wireless communication terminal. Throughthis embodiment, the base wireless communication terminal may reduce theprocessing burden for the wireless communication terminal receiving theA-MPDU to transmit the MU-Block ACK.

In another specific embodiment, when the base wireless communicationterminal transmits the A-MPDU including the MU-BAR MPDU and the dataMPDU, the base wireless communication terminal may transmit the MU-BARMPDU as the first MPDU of the A-MPDU. As described above, since theMU-BAR frame is a variant of the trigger frame, the base wirelesscommunication terminal may treat the MU-BAR MPDU like the trigger MPDUwhen transmitting the A-MPDU including the MU-BAR MPDU. In an embodimentof FIG. 11(c), the base wireless communication terminal transmitsmulticast data to the first station STA1 to the third station STA3. Inthis case, the base wireless communication terminal sets the Ack Policyfield of the QoS Control field to 3(11b) to signal to the first stationSTA1 to the third station STA3 to request transmission of a Block ACKframe. The base wireless communication terminal transmits the A-MPDUincluding the MU-BAR frame and the data frame to the first station STA1to the third station STA3. In this case, the base wireless communicationterminal transmits the MU-BAR frame as the first MPDU of the A-MPDU. Thefirst to third stations STA1 to STA3 transmit an MU-Block ACK frame tothe base wireless communication terminal. Through this embodiment, thebase wireless communication terminal may reduce the processing burdenfor the wireless communication terminal receiving the A-MPDU to preparefor the MU-Block ACK transmission until the MU-Block ACK transmissionstart time point. In this embodiment, the wireless communicationterminal receiving the A-MPDU may need to configure a Block ACK framebased on the BAR MPDU, and then configure a Block ACK frame according towhether the MPDU is transmitted through the A-MPDU after the BAR MPDU.Accordingly, the processing burden for the wireless communicationterminal receiving the A-MPDU to transmit the Block ACK frame mayincrease.

The base wireless communication terminal may transmit the A-MPDUincluding the trigger MPDU and the plurality of BAR MPDUs instead of theMU-BAR MPDU. In this case, the base wireless communication terminal mayinclude a trigger MPDU as a first MPDU, not a MU-BAR MPDU, and maytransmit a plurality of BAR MPDUs after transmitting all other MPDUsincluding A-MPDUs. In this case, the receiver address of the BAR MPDUmay be different from the receiver address of the data MPDU includingthe multicast data. To this end, the base wireless communicationterminal may make an exception to the principle that all MPDUs havingthe same receiver address are transmitted within one A-MPDU. In anotherspecific embodiment, the base wireless communication terminal maytransmit a Multi-STA BAR MPDU including BAR information for a pluralityof wireless communication terminals instead of a plurality of BAR MPDUs.In this case, the Multi-STA BAR MPDU may have the same receiver addressas the data MPDU including the multicast data. In addition, the BARinformation for each of the plurality of wireless communicationterminals included in the Multi-STA BAR MPDU may be distinguished by theAID of each of the plurality of wireless communication terminals. In anembodiment of FIG. 11(d), the base wireless communication terminaltransmits multicast data to the first station STA1 to the third stationSTA3. In this case, the base wireless communication terminal sets theAck Policy field of the QoS Control field to 3(11b) to signal to thefirst station STA1 to the third station STA3 to request transmission ofa Block ACK frame. The base wireless communication terminal transmits anA-MPDU including a trigger frame, three BAR frames and a data frame tothe first station STA1 to the third station STA3. In this case, the basewireless communication terminal transmits the trigger frame to the firstMPDU of the A-MPDU, and then transmits the three BAR MPDUs aftertransmitting all the other MPDUs included in the A-MPDU. In addition,the base wireless communication terminal may transmit a Multi-STA BARMPDU including BAR information on the first station STA1 to the thirdstation STA3 instead of the three BAR MPDUs. The first to third stationsSTA1 to STA3 transmit an MU-Block ACK frame to the base wirelesscommunication terminal. Through this embodiment, the wirelesscommunication terminal receiving the A-MPDU may efficiently prepare theBlock ACK frame transmission.

FIG. 12 shows an operation of the wireless communication terminalaccording to an embodiment of the present invention to change thereceiver operation mode of the wireless communication terminal.

The wireless communication terminal may transmit information on theoperation mode change through the HT Control field. Specifically, thewireless communication terminal may transmit information on theoperation mode change through the MPDU included in the SU PPDU. In thiscase, information on the operation mode change may be Receiver OperationMode Indication (ROMI). In yet another specific embodiment, theinformation on the operation mode change may be Transmitter OperationMode Indication (TOMI). The information on the operation mode changeincludes information on parameters related to the operation mode thatthe wireless communication terminal that transmits the information onthe operation mode change is to change. Specifically, the information onthe operation mode change may include information on the number ofreceivable spatial streams. In addition, the information on theoperation mode change may include information on the receivablefrequency bandwidth. In particular, the information on the operationmode change may include information on the number of transmittablespatial streams. In addition, the information on the operation modechange may include information on the transmittable frequency bandwidth.When the wireless communication terminal receiving the information onthe operation mode change transmits the ACK, the wireless communicationterminal transmitting the information on the receiver operation modechange may change the operation mode for the wireless communicationterminal transmitting the ACK. In this case, the wireless communicationterminal transmitting the information on the operation mode change maychange the operation mode after the transition time elapses from whenthe ACK is received.

In an embodiment of FIG. 12(a), the base wireless communication terminaltransmits to the first station STA1 an A-MPDU including two data MPDUsincluding ROMI. In this case, the base wireless communication terminalsets the ACK Policy field value of the QoS Control field of the dataMPDU to 0(00b) to request immediate ACK transmission for the data MPDU.The first station STA1 transmits a Block ACK frame indicating that twodata MPDUs included in the A-MPDU are received. The base wirelesscommunication terminal receives the Block ACK frame from the firststation STA1 and changes the receiver operation mode.

In an embodiment of FIG. 12(b), the base wireless communication terminaltransmits to the first station STA1 an A-MPDU including two data MPDUsincluding ROMI. In this case, the base wireless communication terminalsets the ACK Policy field value of the QoS Control field of the dataMPDU to 3(11b) to signal that the base wireless communication terminalwill request Block ACK frame transmission for the data MPDU. Then, thebase wireless communication terminal transmits a BAR frame to requestimmediate transmission of a Block ACK frame to the data MPDU.

The base wireless communication terminal may change the receiveroperation mode more quickly in an embodiment of FIG. 12(a) than in anembodiment of FIG. 12(b). Accordingly, the wireless communicationterminal may request an immediate ACK transmission for the MPDUincluding information on the operation mode change. Specifically, thewireless communication terminal may set the ACK Policy field value ofthe QoS Control field of the MPDU including the information on theoperation mode change to 0(00b).

If the wireless communication terminal receiving the DL MU PPDU does notreceive the information on the UL MU transmission, even though thewireless communication terminal receives information on the operationmode change, the wireless communication terminal may not be able totransmit the ACK for the MPDU including the information on the operationmode change. In this case, the base wireless communication terminal maynot be able to quickly change the operation mode. In an embodiment ofFIG. 12C, the base wireless communication terminal transmits to thefirst station STA1 and the second station STA2 an A-MPDU including aplurality of MPDUs including ROMI. In this case, the second station STA2receives all the MPDUs transmitted by the base wireless communicationterminal and transmits a Block ACK frame for the received MPDU. Thefirst station STA1 does not receive the MPDU including the UL MUresponse information. Therefore, even though the first station STA1receives the ROMI from the base wireless communication terminal, thefirst station STA1 fails to transmit the ACK for the MPDU including theROMI. Therefore, the base wireless communication terminal changes onlythe receiver operation mode for the first station STA1 and fails tochange the receiver operation mode of the second station STA2.

Therefore, when the base wireless communication terminal transmitsinformation on the operation mode change through the MPDU included inthe DL MU PPDU, the base wireless communication terminal may insertinformation on the operation mode change into the broadcast MPDU. Inthis case, the broadcast MPDU is an MPDU received by all the wirelesscommunication terminals receiving the DL MU PPDU.

The wireless communication terminal may transmit information on theoperation mode change through the MPDU included in the UL MU PPDU.Specifically, the wireless communication terminal may transmitinformation on the operation mode change through the MPDU included inthe trigger-based PPDU. In an embodiment of FIG. 12(d), the firststation STA1 and the second station STA2 transmit the ROMI to the basewireless communication terminal through the MPDU included in the UL MUPPDU. The base wireless communication terminal receives all the MPDUstransmitted by the first station STA1. The base wireless communicationterminal does not receive the MPDU including the ROMI among theplurality of MPDUs transmitted by the second station STA2. Therefore,the base wireless communication terminal transmits a Block ACK frameindicating that all the MPDUs transmitted by the first station STA1 andthe MPDUs not including the ROMI among the MPDUs transmitted by thesecond station STA2 are received. The first station STA1 receives theBlock ACK frame from the base wireless communication terminal andchanges the receiver operation mode for the base wireless communicationterminal.

As in an embodiments described with reference to FIGS. 12(a) to 12(d),the wireless communication terminal may request an immediate ACKtransmission for the MPDU including information on the operation modechange. Further, the wireless communication terminal may transmit theMPDU including the information on the operation mode change through theSU PPDU. Also, the wireless communication terminal may transmit the MPDUincluding the information on the operation mode change through thetrigger-based PPDU.

FIG. 13 shows an operation of transmitting a UL MU PPDU in a MUcascading transmission process according to an embodiment of the presentinvention.

When the wireless communication terminal transmits the UL MU PPDU basedon the UL MU response information, the UL MU PPDU may be transmittedunder the following conditions. Specifically, when the wirelesscommunication terminal transmits the A-MPDU including the ACK MPDU andthe data MPDU through the UL MU PPDU based on the UL MU responseinformation, the UL MU PPDU may be transmitted under the followingconditions.

When the wireless communication terminal transmits the UL MU PPDU basedon the UL MU response information, the wireless communication terminalmay transmit the UL MU PPDU without carrier sensing. In a specificembodiment, when a wireless communication terminal transmits an UL MUPPDU, the requirement of carrier sensing of the wireless communicationterminal may be determined according to the length of the uplinktransmission duration. Therefore, when the wireless communicationterminal transmits the UL MU PPDU based on the UL MU responseinformation, the wireless communication terminal may perform carriersensing based on the length of the uplink transmission duration. Forexample, when the wireless communication terminal transmits the UL MUPPDU based on the UL MU response information, if the length of theuplink transmission duration is larger than the designated value,carrier sensing of the wireless communication terminal may be required.In this case, when the channel is idle, the wireless communicationterminal may be able to start transmission of the UL MU PPDU. The uplinktransmission duration may be a duration indicated by the UL PPDU Lengthfield of the UL MU response information described above.

When the wireless communication terminal transmits the UL MU PPDU basedon the UL MU response information, the wireless communication terminalmay not allow the Spatial Reuse (SR) transmission to the UL MU PPDU.Specifically, when the wireless communication terminal transmits the ULMU PPDU, the signaling information indicating whether or not the SRtransmission is allowed may be set such that SR transmission is notallowed. In a specific embodiment, when the wireless communicationterminal transmits the UL MU PPDU, the wireless communication terminalmay set the SR parameter of the transmission parameter TXVECTOR to avalue indicating that the SR transmission is not allowed. In anotherspecific embodiment, when the wireless communication terminal transmitsthe UL MU PPDU based on the UL MU response information, the wirelesscommunication terminal may set whether or not to allow the SRtransmission according to the indication from the base wirelesscommunication terminal.

Also, when the wireless communication terminal transmits the UL MU PPDUbased on the UL MU response information, the wireless communicationterminal may use the frequency bandwidth of the same size as thefrequency bandwidth of the DL MU PPDU including the UL MU responseinformation as the BW value of the transmission parameter TXVECTOR. Inthis case, the BW value may indicate the BW field value of the HE-SIG-Afield of the UL MU PPDU.

Further, when the wireless communication terminal transmits the UL MUPPDU based on the UL MU response information, the wireless communicationterminal may use the default CP/LTF type of the UL MU PPDU.

Further, when the wireless communication terminal transmits the UL MUPPDU based on the UL MU response information, the wireless communicationterminal may not use MU-MIMO. Further, when the wireless communicationterminal transmits the UL MU PPDU based on the UL MU responseinformation, the wireless communication terminal may not use MU-MIMO LTFMode. Specifically, when the wireless communication terminal transmitsthe UL MU PPDU, the wireless communication terminal may set the SSAllocation parameter of the transmission parameter TXVECTOR to 0.Further, when the wireless communication terminal transmits the UL MUPPDU, the wireless communication terminal may set the number of spatialstreams of the transmission parameter TXVECTOR to 0.

In addition, when the wireless communication terminal transmits the ULMU PPDU based on the UL MU response information, the wirelesscommunication terminal may transmit the UL MU PPDU using a BinaryConvolutional Coding (BCC) code. Specifically, when the wirelesscommunication terminal transmits the UL MU PPDU, the wirelesscommunication terminal may set the Coding Type parameter of thetransmission parameter TXVECTOR to 0. Further, when the wirelesscommunication terminal transmits the UL MU PPDU, the wirelesscommunication terminal may set the LDPC Extra parameter of thetransmission parameter TXVECTOR to 0.

In addition, when the wireless communication terminal transmits the ULMU PPDU based on the UL MU response information, the wirelesscommunication terminal may transmit the UL MU PPDU without using theSTBC. Specifically, when the wireless communication terminal transmitsthe UL MU PPDU, the wireless communication terminal may set the STBCparameter of the transmission parameter TXVECTOR to 0.

Also, when the wireless communication terminal transmits the UL MU PPDUbased on the UL MU response information, even if the UL MU responseinformation is separately transmitted for each A-MPDU in the DL MU PPDU,the wireless communication terminal may not arbitrarily expand thenumber of symbols for transmitting the LTF. Specifically, the wirelesscommunication terminal may transmit the LTF through one symbol. In aspecific embodiment, when a wireless communication terminal transmits anUL MU PPDU, the wireless communication terminal may set the number ofLTFs parameter of the transmission parameter TXVECTOR to 1.

Further, when the wireless communication terminal transmits the UL MUPPDU based on the UL MU response information, the wireless communicationterminal may not perform the power control based on the AP TXPower/Target RSSI information.

Further, when the wireless communication terminal transmits the UL MUPPDU based on the UL MU response information, the wireless communicationterminal may transmit a UL MU PPDU by setting a Packet Extension fieldaccording to a method designated by the base wireless communicationterminal. Specifically, when the wireless communication terminaltransmits the UL MU PPDU based on the UL MU response information, thewireless communication terminal may set the length of the packetextension field to a length specified by the base wireless communicationterminal to transmit the UL MU PPDU.

Further, when the wireless communication terminal transmits the UL MUPPDU based on the UL MU response information, the wireless communicationterminal may select an MCS to be used in transmission of the UL MU PPDUaccording to the ACK rate selection method based on the MCS of thereceived data MPDU.

In addition, when the wireless communication terminal transmits the ULMU PPDU based on the UL MU response information, the wirelesscommunication terminal may transmit the UL MU PPDU without using theDCM.

The wireless communication terminal may increase the efficiency of MUcascading transmission using UL MU response information through theseembodiments. Further, when the wireless communication terminal transmitsthe UL MU PPDU based on the UL MU response information through theseembodiments, it is possible to solve the problem that the UL MU PPDUtransmission operation becomes unclear due to the format differencebetween the trigger frame and the UL MU response information.

When the base wireless communication terminal triggers uplinktransmission of a plurality of wireless communication terminals throughthe DL MU PPDU, the base wireless communication terminal may transmitonly one of the trigger MPDU and the UL MU response information for eachof a plurality of wireless communication terminals. Therefore, theA-MPDU may not simultaneously include the UL MU response information andthe trigger MPDU that triggers the same wireless communication terminalas the wireless communication terminal indicated by the UL MU responseinformation. Specifically, as in an embodiment of FIG. 13(a), the basewireless communication terminal may transmit the DL MU PPDU includingthe trigger MPDU and the UL MU response information to the first stationSTA1 to the third station STA3. In this case, the base wirelesscommunication terminal may transmit the trigger MPDU to the firststation STA1, transmits UL MU response information to the second stationSTA2, and transmit the trigger MPDU to the third station STA3. Throughthese embodiments, the base wireless communication terminal may lowerthe complexity for configuring the trigger MPDU and UL MU responseinformation.

In an embodiment of FIG. 13(a), the third station STA3 receives only thedata MPDU from the base wireless communication terminal and does notreceive the trigger MPDU. Therefore, the third station STA3 may nottransmit the UL MU PPDU to the base wireless communication terminal.When the base wireless communication terminal triggers uplinktransmission of a plurality of wireless communication terminals throughthe DL MU PPDU, the base wireless communication terminal may transmitboth the trigger MPDU and the UL MU response information for each of aplurality of wireless communication terminals. In this case, the UL MUresponse information and the information indicated by the trigger MPDUshould be the same or similar. In an embodiment of FIG. 13(b), the thirdstation STA3 does not receive the trigger MPDU but receives the UL MUresponse information. Therefore, the third station STA transmits the ULMU PPDU to the base wireless communication terminal.

FIG. 14 shows an operation of a wireless communication terminalaccording to an embodiment of the present invention.

The base wireless communication terminal 1401 transmits a DL MU PPDUincluding information for UL MU transmission to a plurality of wirelesscommunication terminals including the wireless communication terminal1403 (S1401). The UL MU transmission information may be the UL MUresponse information described above. In addition, the information forUL MU transmission may be the trigger MPDU described above. In thiscase, the UL MU response information may be information included in theMAC header. Specifically, the UL MU response information may beinformation for scheduling a trigger-based PPDU including an ACK. Inaddition, the trigger-based PPDU may be an UL MU PPDU.

Also, the base wireless communication terminal 1401 may transmit theA-MPDU through the DL MU PPDU. In this case, the base wirelesscommunication terminal 1401 may transmit at least one of the controlMPDU and the management MPDU together with the data MPDU as describedabove. The base wireless communication terminal 1401 may transmit anA-MPDU including a Block ACK MPDU, a BAR MPDU, and a data MPDU. When thebase wireless communication terminal 1401 transmits an A-MPDU includinga Block ACK MPDU, a BAR MPDU, and a data MPDU, the base wirelesscommunication terminal 1401 may transmit the Block ACK MPDU as the firstMPDU of the A-MPDU. Further, when the base wireless communicationterminal 1401 transmits the A-MPDU including the Block ACK MPDU, the BARMPDU, and the data MPDU, the base wireless communication terminal 1401may transmit the BAR MPDU as the last MPDU of the A-MPDU. Specifically,when the base wireless communication terminal 1401 transmits an A-MPDUincluding a Block ACK MPDU, a BAR MPDU, and a data MPDU, the basewireless communication terminal 1401 may transmit the Block ACK MPDU asthe first MPDU of the A-MPDU and the BAR MPDU as the last MPDU of theA-MPDU. Specifically, the base wireless communication terminal 1401 maytransmit the A-MPDU as in an embodiment described with reference to FIG.10.

In addition, the base wireless communication terminal 1401 may transmitonly one of the trigger MPDU and the UL MU response information to thewireless communication terminal 1403. Accordingly, the A-MPDUtransmitted to the wireless communication terminal 1403 may notsimultaneously include the UL MU response information for the wirelesscommunication terminal 1403 and the trigger MPDU that triggers thewireless communication terminal 1403. In another specific embodiment,the base wireless communication terminal 1401 may transmit both thetrigger MPDU and the UL MU response information to the wirelesscommunication terminal 1403.

The wireless communication terminal 1403 transmits the UL MU PPDU basedon the information for UL MU transmission (S1403). Specifically, thewireless communication terminal 1403 may obtain information for UL MUtransmission from the DL MU PPDU and transmit UL MU PPDU based on theinformation for the obtained UL MU transmission. In this case, the UL MUtransmission information may be the UL MU response information asdescribed above. When the wireless communication terminal 1403 transmitsthe UL MU PPDU based on the UL MU response information, the wirelesscommunication terminal 1403 may transmit the UL MU PPDU without carriersensing. In a specific embodiment, when a wireless communicationterminal 1403 transmits an UL MU PPDU, the requirement of carriersensing of the wireless communication terminal may be determinedaccording to the length of the uplink transmission duration. Therefore,when the wireless communication terminal 1403 transmits the UL MU PPDUbased on the UL MU response information, the wireless communicationterminal 1403 may perform carrier sensing based on the length of theuplink transmission duration. For example, when the wirelesscommunication terminal 1403 transmits the UL MU PPDU based on the UL MUresponse information, if the length of the uplink transmission durationis larger than the designated value, carrier sensing of the wirelesscommunication terminal 1403 may be required. In this case, when thechannel is idle, the wireless communication terminal 1403 may be able tostart transmission of the UL MU PPDU. The uplink transmission durationmay be a duration indicated by the UL PPDU Length field of the UL MUresponse information described above.

When the wireless communication terminal 1403 transmits the UL MU PPDUbased on the UL MU response information, the wireless communicationterminal 1403 may not allow the Spatial Reuse (SR) transmission to theUL MU PPDU. Specifically, when the wireless communication terminal 1403transmits the UL MU PPDU, the signaling information indicating whetheror not the SR transmission is allowed may be set such that SRtransmission is not allowed. In a specific embodiment, when the wirelesscommunication terminal 1403 transmits the UL MU PPDU, the wirelesscommunication terminal may set the SR parameter of the transmissionparameter TXVECTOR to a value indicating that the SR transmission is notallowed.

Also, when the wireless communication terminal 1403 transmits the UL MUPPDU based on the UL MU response information, the wireless communicationterminal 1403 may use the frequency bandwidth of the same size as thefrequency bandwidth of the DL MU PPDU including the UL MU responseinformation as the BW value of the transmission parameter TXVECTOR.Specifically, when the wireless communication terminal 1403 transmitsthe UL MU PPDU based on the UL MU response information, the wirelesscommunication terminal 1403 may use the same frequency band as thefrequency band of the DL MU PPDU including the UL MU responseinformation.

Further, when the wireless communication terminal 1403 transmits the ULMU PPDU based on the UL MU response information, the wirelesscommunication terminal 1403 may use the default CP/LTF type of the UL MUPPDU.

Further, when the wireless communication terminal 1403 transmits the ULMU PPDU based on the UL MU response information, the wirelesscommunication terminal 1403 may not use MU-MIMO. Accordingly, when thewireless communication terminal 1403 transmits the UL MU PPDU based onthe UL MU response information, the wireless communication terminal 1403may not use MU-MIMO LTF Mode. Specifically, when the wirelesscommunication terminal 1403 transmits the UL MU PPDU, the wirelesscommunication terminal 1403 may set the SS Allocation parameter of thetransmission parameter TXVECTOR to 0.

In addition, when the wireless communication terminal 1403 transmits theUL MU PPDU based on the UL MU response information, the wirelesscommunication terminal 1403 may transmit the UL MU PPDU using a BinaryConvolutional Coding (BCC) code. Specifically, when the wirelesscommunication terminal 1403 transmits the UL MU PPDU, the wirelesscommunication terminal may set the Coding Type parameter of thetransmission parameter TXVECTOR to 0. Further, when the wirelesscommunication terminal 1403 transmits the UL MU PPDU, the wirelesscommunication terminal may set the LDPC Extra parameter of thetransmission parameter TXVECTOR to 0.

In addition, when the wireless communication terminal 1403 transmits theUL MU PPDU based on the UL MU response information, the wirelesscommunication terminal 1403 may transmit the UL MU PPDU without usingthe STBC. Specifically, when the wireless communication terminal 1403transmits the UL MU PPDU, the wireless communication terminal 1403 mayset the STBC parameter of the transmission parameter TXVECTOR to 0.

Also, when the wireless communication terminal 1403 transmits the UL MUPPDU based on the UL MU response information, even if the UL MU responseinformation is separately transmitted for each A-MPDU in the DL MU PPDU,the wireless communication terminal 1403 may not arbitrarily expand thenumber of symbols for transmitting the LTF. Specifically, the wirelesscommunication terminal 1403 may transmit the LTF through one symbol. Ina specific embodiment, when a wireless communication terminal transmitsan UL MU PPDU, the wireless communication terminal may set the number ofLTFs parameter of the transmission parameter TXVECTOR to 1.

Further, when the wireless communication terminal 1403 transmits the ULMU PPDU based on the UL MU response information, the wirelesscommunication terminal 1403 may not perform the power control based onthe AP TX Power/Target RSSI information.

Further, when the wireless communication terminal 1403 transmits the ULMU PPDU based on the UL MU response information, the wirelesscommunication terminal 1403 may not perform the power control based onthe AP TX Power/Target RSSI information.

Further, when the wireless communication terminal 1403 transmits the ULMU PPDU based on the UL MU response information, the wirelesscommunication terminal 1403 may set a Packet Extension field accordingto a method designated by the base wireless communication terminal 1401to transmit a UL MU PPDU. Specifically, when the wireless communicationterminal 1403 transmits the UL MU PPDU based on the UL MU responseinformation, the wireless communication terminal 1403 may set the lengthof the packet extension field to a length specified by the base wirelesscommunication terminal 1403 to transmit the UL MU PPDU. Further, whenthe wireless communication terminal 1403 transmits the UL MU PPDU basedon the UL MU response information, the wireless communication terminal1403 may select an MCS to be used in transmission of the UL MU PPDUaccording to the ACK rate selection method based on the MCS of thereceived data MPDU.

In addition, when the wireless communication terminal 1403 transmits theUL MU PPDU based on the UL MU response information, the wirelesscommunication terminal 1403 may transmit the UL MU PPDU without usingthe DCM.

As described above, when transmitting the DL MU PPDU, the base wirelesscommunication terminal 1401 may request the wireless communicationterminal 1403 to transmit the ACK and specify the format of the ACK. Thebase wireless communication terminal 1401 may, through the Ack Policyfield of the QoS Control field of the MAC header, request the wirelesscommunication terminal 1403 to transmit the ACK and specify the formatof the ACK. Specifically, the base wireless communication terminal 1401may request ACK transmission to the wireless communication terminal 1403and designate the ACK format, as in an embodiment of FIG. 8.

In addition, the base wireless communication terminal 1401 may transmita BAR frame to the wireless communication terminal 1403 to requestimmediate transmission of a Block ACK frame. In addition, the basewireless communication terminal 1401 may transmit an MU-BAR frame to thewireless communication terminal 1403 to request immediate transmissionof an MU-Block ACK frame.

In the MU cascading transmission, the base wireless communicationterminal may request the wireless communication terminal 1403 totransmit an immediate MU-Block ACK frame for data transmission.Specifically, the base wireless communication terminal may requestimmediate transmission of MU-Block ACK for data transmission to thewireless communication terminal 1403 through the Ack Policy field of theQoS Control field or the MU-BAR frame.

When the base wireless communication terminal 1401 requests the wirelesscommunication terminal 1403 to transmit the MU-Block ACK frameimmediately but does not receive the MU-Block ACK frame, the basewireless communication terminal 1401 may transmit the MU-BAR frame tothe wireless communication terminal 1403. Specifically, when the basewireless communication terminal 1401 requests the transmission of theMU-Block ACK frame by setting the Ack Policy field of the HT Controlfield to 1(01b) but fails to receive the MU-Block ACK frame, the basewireless communication terminal 1401 may transmit the MU-BAR frame tothe wireless communication terminal 1403. In a specific embodiment, ifthe base wireless communication terminal 1401 transmits the UL MUresponse information for transmitting the MU-Block ACK to the wirelesscommunication terminal 1403 and requests the transmission of theMU-Block ACK frame by setting the Ack Policy field of the HT Controlfield to 1(01b), but fails to receive the MU-Block ACK frame, the basewireless communication terminal 1401 may transmit the MU-BAR frame tothe wireless communication terminal 1403. Also, if the base wirelesscommunication terminal 1401 transmits the MU-BAR MPDU for transmittingthe MU-Block ACK to the wireless communication terminal 1403, requeststhe transmission of the MU-Block ACK frame by setting the Ack Policyfield of the HT Control field to 1(01b), but fails to receive theMU-Block ACK frame, the base wireless communication terminal 1401 maytransmit an MU-BAR frame to one or a plurality of wireless communicationterminals. Specifically, the base wireless communication terminal 1401may operate as in an embodiment described with reference to FIG. 9.

Also, the base wireless communication terminal 1401 and the wirelesscommunication terminal 1403 may request an immediate ACK transmission tothe MPDU including information on the operation mode change. Also, thebase wireless communication terminal 1401 and the wireless communicationterminal 1403 may transmit the MPDU including information on theoperation mode change through the SU PPDU. Also, the base wirelesscommunication terminal 1401 and the wireless communication terminal 1403may transmit the MPDU including the information on the operation modechange through the trigger-based PPDU.

Although the present invention is described by using wireless LANcommunication as an example, it is not limited thereto and may beapplied to other communication systems such as cellular communication.Additionally, while the method, device, and system of the presentinvention are described in relation to specific embodiments thereof,some or all of the components or operations of the present invention maybe implemented using a computer system having a general purpose hardwarearchitecture.

The features, structures, and effects described in the above embodimentsare included in at least one embodiment of the present invention and arenot necessary limited to one embodiment. Furthermore, features,structures, and effects shown in each embodiment may be combined ormodified in other embodiments by those skilled in the art. Therefore, itshould be interpreted that contents relating to such combination andmodification are included in the range of the present invention.

While the present invention is described mainly based on the aboveembodiments but is not limited thereto, it will be understood by thoseskilled in the art that various changes and modifications are madewithout departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.For example, each component specifically shown in the embodiments may bemodified and implemented. It should be interpreted that differencesrelating to such modifications and application are included in the scopeof the present invention defined in the appended claims.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A wireless communication terminal thatwirelessly communicates, the wireless communication terminal comprising:a transceiver; and a processor, wherein the processor is configured to:receive a Downlink Multi-User (DL MU) physical layer protocol data unit(PPDU) including information for an Uplink Multi-User (UL MU)transmission from a base wireless communication terminal by using thetransceiver, and when the information for the UL MU transmission is ULMU response information, transmit, by using the transceiver, a PPDU forthe UL MU transmission to the base wireless communication terminal basedon the information for the UL MU transmission without carrier sensing,wherein the UL MU response information includes transmission schedulinginformation of the PPDU for the UL MU transmission and is included in amedium access control (MAC) header.
 2. The wireless communicationterminal of claim 1, when the information for the UL MU transmission isthe UL MU response information, wherein the processor is configured toset a BW value of a transmission parameter TXVECTOR of the PPDU for theUL MU transmission as a frequency bandwidth of the DL MU PPDU.
 3. Thewireless communication terminal of claim 1, when the information for theUL MU transmission is the UL MU response information, wherein theprocessor is configured to transmit the PPDU for the UL MU transmissionwithout using UL MU-Multi-Input Multi-Output (MIMO).
 4. The wirelesscommunication terminal of claim 1, when the information for the UL MUtransmission is UL MU response information, wherein the processor isconfigured to transmit the PPDU for the UL MU transmission using abinary convolutional coding (BCC) code.
 5. The wireless communicationterminal of claim 1, when the information for the UL MU transmission isthe UL MU response information, wherein the processor is configured totransmit a packet extension field according to a length indicated by thebase wireless communication terminal when the wireless communicationterminal transmits the PPDU for the UL MU transmission.
 6. The wirelesscommunication terminal of claim 1, when the information for the UL MUtransmission is the UL MU response information, wherein an Aggregate-MACProtocol Data Unit (A-MPDU) including the UL MU response informationdoes not comprise a trigger MPDU that triggers a wireless communicationterminal whose UL MU transmission is triggered by the UL MU responseinformation.
 7. The wireless communication terminal of claim 1, when theinformation for the UL MU transmission is a trigger MAC Protocol DataUnit (MPDU) for triggering the UL MU transmission of the wirelesscommunication terminal, wherein an Aggregate-MPDU (A-MPDU) comprisingthe trigger MPDU comprises a Block ACK MPDU as a first MPDU andcomprises a trigger MPDU as a second MPDU.
 8. The wireless communicationterminal of claim 7, wherein the A-MPDU comprises a Block ACK Request(BAR) MPDU as a last MPDU when the information for the UL MUtransmission is the trigger MPDU for triggering the UL MU transmissionof the wireless communication terminal.
 9. A method of operating awireless communication terminal that wirelessly communicates, the methodcomprising: receiving, from a base wireless communication terminal, aDownlink Multi-User (DL MU) PPDU including information for UplinkMulti-User (UL MU) transmission; and when the information for the UL MUtransmission is UL MU response information, transmitting, withoutcarrier sensing, a PPDU for the UL MU transmission based on theinformation for the UL MU transmission to the base wirelesscommunication terminal, wherein the UL MU response information includestransmission scheduling information of the PPDU for the UL MUtransmission and is included in a medium access control (MAC) header.10. The method of claim 9, when information for the UL MU transmissionis the UL MU response information, wherein the transmitting the PPDU forthe UL MU transmission comprises using a frequency bandwidth of the samesize as a frequency bandwidth of the DL MU PPDU as a BW value of atransmission parameter TXVECTOR of the PPDU for the UL MU transmission.11. The method of claim 9, when the information for the UL MUtransmission is the UL MU response information, wherein the transmittingthe PPDU for the UL MU transmission comprises transmitting the PPDU forthe UL MU transmission without using UL MU-Multi-Input Multi-Output(MIMO).
 12. The method of claim 9, when the information for the UL MUtransmission is the UL MU response information, wherein the transmittingthe PPDU for the UL MU transmission comprises transmitting the PPDU forthe UL MU transmission using a binary convolutional coding (BCC) code.13. The method of claim 9, when the information for the UL MUtransmission is the UL MU response information, wherein the transmittingthe PPDU for the UL MU transmission comprises transmitting a packetextension field according to a length indicated by the base wirelesscommunication terminal.
 14. The method of claim 9, when the informationfor the UL MU transmission is the UL MU response information, wherein anAggregate-MAC Protocol Data Unit (A-MPDU) including the UL MU responseinformation does not comprise a trigger MPDU that triggers a wirelesscommunication terminal whose UL MU transmission is triggered by the ULMU response information.
 15. The method of claim 9, when the informationfor the UL MU transmission is a trigger MAC Protocol Data Unit (MPDU)for triggering the UL MU transmission of the wireless communicationterminal, wherein the Aggregate-MPDU (A-MPDU) comprising the triggerMPDU comprises a Block ACK MPDU as a first MPDU and comprises a triggerMPDU as a second MPDU.
 16. The method of claim 15, wherein the A-MPDUcomprises a Block ACK Request (BAR) MPDU as a last MPDU when theinformation for the UL MU transmission is the trigger MPDU fortriggering the UL MU transmission of the wireless communicationterminal.